WHAT IF? Beast wore the Iron Man suit ?

Beast in Old Stark Tech

ink, acrylic, pencil on 8x10 hard card

BEAST borrowing some old Stark Tech.

Back around Avengers 187 the crew travelled to Wundagore Mountain and the Beast, who back in these days was portrayed as a more groovy genius ended up wearing a suit of High Tech Armour borrowed from the nights of Wundagore Mountain. I always thought it would be a good idea if he kept a suit of tech armour handy since he was always getting burnt by laser blasts or dropped in the water. So here's the Beast wearing Tony Stark's first suit of Iron Man armour.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

WHAT IF? Captain America Military Police Man!

Captain America

Ink, pencil, acrylic paint and White Out

8x10 Hard Card

CAPTAIN AMERICA Military Policeman!

Back in the Early Days of WW II Steve Rogers the idealistic American underwent the transformation into the Star Spangled Hero known as Captain America. His first job was to improve morale among the troops by arresting any soldiers he felt weren't patriotic enough. He was so good at his job that a vote was passed and he was shipped overseas to fight Hitler.

I gave Capt. America an Eagle named Liberty, I always found it strange that the Falcon had a Falcon and Capt. America ran around with a teenage boy, so I changed that up.
This image was inspired after reading "Fallen Son TPB" some touching writing by Jeph Loeb and of course by the Battlefield Captain America action figure, which is awesome.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Unknown Sport, "Clank Ball"

I've been trying to come up with a sport for the Any How Town series, something that is like hockey or football but I'm having a hard time doing it. I thought building this model would help get me started. It did not, but it did make me smile. The only note I have says, "Clank Ball" and that really is of no use.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Jewelry Box Diorama, "the Brave Crossing"

Here's another one, love this guy, click on the bottom image to see all the bits, have to still do some touch ups on the lighting in the swamp and add some hanging plastic leaves. I might even start adding the titles on a placard that hangs at the top of the diorama., we'll see each is it's own little beast right now. Nice to be trying new things and learning as I go.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Working Titles: The Cat's Tea Party I & II

I'll be back to write about the construction of these two pieces a little later, I'll probably reshoot the finished pieces outdoors as these photos are pretty poor, but humour me and click on them anyway, they may make you smile.
cheers,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

"Where Tin Men Are Made" Jewelry Box Dioramas

Here are some of the steps for building a Jewelry Box Diorama, I've taken a break from building "sets" for Any How Town to do some of these. I just needed a change of pace, a new thing to keep my  hands busy before I set to the task of finishing the first two books in the series. I've also been in the studio doing a lot of commissioned work which you can read about at the "mad craft shoppe" blog (see links, right). I currently have work hanging at Cowbell Bistro (photos at the mad craft shoppe) and of course my beloved wall at the Press Club.
expect to see some more dioramas soon, hey build your own email me a photo of one.
best,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Doing What They Do Best

I do hereby promise to return to writing the first books of the Any How Town series as soon as these Christmas commissions are finished. I promise I will finish the first two books by the end of January and will get them submitted to a publisher. I have been away from Oliver and Eaglet for way too long and its time to get them back in action.
 A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Wall of Fame and some new buddies

Hey there hope everyone is having a great Hallowe'en weekend, in the spirit of the event I build this fun wall of skulls, don't know if it will figure into any of Oliver and Eaglet's adventures, but it sure turned out looking cool for such a simple project. Again, all items available at your local Dollararma and other dollar stores, remember to stock up on skulls so you'll always have them around. I also got these three dudes, not quite sure what to do with them yet, but check back in a few days and we'll see what happened to them.
cheers,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

School For Villains

If I'm posting infrequently it's because there's lots of building going on here and lots of commissions for paintings so bear with me, I think this little scene should tide you over for awhile.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Any How Town salutes Stan Munro

As featured in today's Toronto Star the toothpick constructions of world famous landmarks by Stan Munro, here's a link to the image gallery and article.

http://www.thestar.com/searchresults?AssetType=image&stype=genSearch&q=stan%20munro&r=all:1

Stan, I salute you

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Build Your Own GOBBLERS! Part Two

 The next step is to base coat your GOBBLERS! I used a mix of green and black just to give them a little more depth, sometimes just basecoating in black makes them look flat. Brush on the paint all over, but not too much you don't want to fill in all the details of the feathers and scales.

 After that dries your GOBBLERS! are ready to be painted any colour you like, I used bright red, yellow ochre and two shades of green on the scales and feathers. I also carefully painted the teeth in white (with a bit of yellow ochre mixed in) to show off their chompers. After that I put some white glue (or carpenter's glue) down on the bases and added the moss. This mossy stuff can be bought in the craft section of most Dollarama's but it is messy so only use a bit out of the bag at a time. Let everything dry.

 So here's my collection of GOBBLER'S! so far, I think I count 13 so far.

 have a great day,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Build Your Own GOBBLERS!

 These Dinosaurs are easily purchased at any Dollarama, but don't stick your nose in the bag it reeks of plasic/petroleum. Really love the thrilled expression on the faces of the Velociraptor (pictured above) and the T-Rex.

 These may be a little harder to find I grabbed a few bags because c'mon, how often do you come across a toy plastic turkey, the detailing on the feathers is really nice too. These guys have a hard time standing up on their bases/tiny legs so I TITAN ALL PURPOSE glue them to little masonite bases, saves alot of frustration.

 To chop the heads off the dinos I use my leatherman saw, easy to hold and position, sometimes the heads have a simple seam where they're glued that you can cut. If you're too young to be doing this ask a parent or elder sibling to help you out. Once the heads are off (see above) they usually fit right onto the birds without having to cut the bird's heads off, but you might have to, depends on what makes you happiest.

Here are three GOBBLERS! attached to their bases and with heads glued on, they're drying right now but will soon be ready for basecoating, final  paint and application of moss!
see you soon!
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Diorama of the Day :From us Gobblers to you Gobblers

From all us Gobblers to you Gobblers a very Happy Thanksgiving, we have much to be grateful for.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Tools of the Trade

Here's a look at some of the products that pile up when I'm doing the builds
PHOTO ONE These Build Your Own kits are a must, so many cool pieces to add on to machinery and walls to give the appearance of panels, gearboxes etc.
PHOTO TWO I picked up this Jenga Knockoff for $3.50 it didn't have enough pieces to play Jenga properly but it did have enough for Any How Town, in the photo you can see FIVE new Sputterjacks that are going to be painted for the Gardan State Sputterjack Team. Yes even the enemy Sputterjack but their rules are a little more dangerous.
PHOTO THREE More wooden cubes! You just can't have enough of these lying around
PHOTO FOUR These TIME CRAFTS kits are awesome to have as a stock for all kinds of different pieces.
PHOTO FIVE DecoArt acrylic can be found in most dollar stores, great for basecoating in colour, the Gardan Sputterjacks are a darker green than the one shown at right, but both these colours will be great for highlights.
cheers!
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Daily Diorama "Time to Make the Donuts"

Your Daily Diorama Fix as supplied to you by A.Shay Hahn, have a great day

madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Lonely Guardsman II

I just keep building stuff and building stuff, I may as well make a little scene and post it. There are some models that will be exclusively for AHT but really it's a waste to have so much of this stuff and not show it to you. So here's the continuing study in existentialism about the life of the lonely guardsman.
 A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Lonely Guardsman

"The Lonely  Guardsman"

I think I'm starting to get into that Hallowe'en spirit.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Ya Gotta Be Prepared, must have items for a Rainy Sunday

Since I've been talking more about the builds for Any How Town than the writing I figured I'd post some pictures of stuff I always have lying around and never want to be without if the urge to amuse myself kicks in.
TOP PHOTO I love doing the animal mods,it's not hard, there's a tutorial for making Cliff Hoppers if you scan down the blog. The Rule of Thumb for any Dollar Store mod purchase is ALWAYS BUY AT LEAST TWO, so the afternoon I'm going to swap these heads around for fun, it's always cooler to do multiples. The Titan All Purpose is a good glue for this, but be warned, IT IS RUNNY so use a little stick or a brush you're prepared to throw away to spread it about. This stuff will glue anything and like everything in the photo, it only costs a buck.
BOTTOM PHOTO I buy the  Krafty Kids Wood Craft Cubes in lots of four, they are amazing for builds, I can honestly say they are my favourite recent discovery, I've made so many cool sets with them (photos yet to be posted) never just buy one bag because they aren't often stocked, so buy lots. I use tons of the Titan Carpenter's Glue at least three or four bottles a week, a great product and it's washable. These Krafy Kids Wood Craft Dowels are great for building Jail cell bars and for architectural details like pipes, very easy to cut into smaller sizes too.
So there's today's lesson, please let me know if you're enjoying these notes and I'll try to get a couple of Dragon Pigs ready for later today, but I'll only do that if someone emails me and asks for them, so if you're curious drop me a line.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Givin' Good Wreckage

Awhile back I was writing about my obsession with the Battlefield Captain America figure not only how cool it was, but also how expensive and as I surf about on ebay, he really isn't any cheaper there so I had to move on and I found this guy Red Hulk, isn't he great ? I do follow some Marvel comics but I honestly have no idea why the Hulk is red, or if he's a different Hulk and the Green one is still around, I just couldn't tell ya. But when I get this guy I'm just going to paint him anyways. But first I may pose him in a diorama of some wreckage which I've been wanting to build for awhile. I did build the abandoned town "set" that the gobblers were running around in (see posts below) but I have never build any good wreckage so using the above source photo I'm going to come up with some. I've also decided I have to get back to drawing so I picked up some brush pens and a bristol pad, expect some AHT sketches to show up here, they may even be for sale!
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com
p.s be sure to head to the Wilson 96 for Nuit Blanche and see my work there! (see post at "the mad craft shoppe" blog)
UPDATE Here's the wikipedia link so you can read about who the Red Hulk is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_Ross and yes, it may be confusing.

Jewelry Box Conversion Steps One and Two

Hey there folks, sorry I feel like I've been away too long, but I have been building consistently while I wait for my very special purchase to show up (still! geez.) that I want to add to three or four diorama pieces to really make them come to life, yes I know, you can't wait, but I should have them up some time this week. While I've been patiently waiting for the postman to come I began this Dollar Store conversion,
 PHOTO 1) Dollar Store Jewelry box found in the craft aisle $1.25 I intially thought to do a diorama that actually folds back into a box and believe me I will but there were two "sets" I wanted to do first for fun

PHOTO 2) The plexi sheet was an off cut that I got from the shop I build frames in (see blog "The mad craft shoppe" in the links section) it's going to be for a cool underwater base, which may have nothing to do with the Any How Town stories (or does it ?). Those great "pipe"things I use all the time and they are from a game that is available at some more exclusive dollar stores, they have become indispensible for making sets and buildings look real, the devil is truly in the details because they are a pain to use woodglue on and if you build with them you may have to use a different product, like an all purpose glue, I'll post of a photo of that stuff next week, if anyone is interested in these tutorials.

PHOTO 3) Here's the other half of the Jewelry box which I want to eventually have look like the inside of a giant Big Ben Type clock, I just need to track down some gears or things that could pass as gears and of course the base coated underwater base.

All for now, back to work, we'd love to hear from you
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building A Street Scene, Popsicle Stick Process II

Here are the two views of our street scene after a bit of dry brushing, all of these colours are available in a paint set at any dollar store, again no need to break the bank we ain't building dollhouses here, we're building Any How Town. I have yet to decide if I'm going to build any functional doors for the piece, but currently I'm feeling pretty lazy about that, I'd like to just stage a little scene and shoot that. Also I hope to start doing some new revised character drawings and posting them here for you to see, there have been some changes to characters in AHT since I started this blog and I think it would be great to get up the new looks for some of the folks, so be patient with that. I'm also awaiting a very special package in the mail and when that arrives I'll stage some dioramas of the other buildings that I've been putting together over the past couple of weeks.
have a happy Monday,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building A Street Scene, Popsicle Stick Process

I've been working on a bunch of commissions and a new album design (see links "the mad craft shoppe) so I haven't been writing at all and I really miss getting Oliver and Eaglet into trouble. In my off time and while paint is drying I've been working on more buildings and thought I'd document the constructions so you can see how easy it is. The top two photos show the beginnings of the build, all of the items displayed were purchased at dollar stores, except the luon boards which I got from the carpentry shop that I build my painting frames at. The doors, bricks, rocks on the ground and window frames are all popsicle sticks, The balcony rails are barbecue skewers (found in the kitchen aisle of ALL Dollar Stores) and the stairwell is built from little wooden cubes that you can find at some dollar stores (or Deserres for about $1.50 for a bag) and the treads of the stairs are from a "Mini Jenga) game that some dollar stores carry. The next two photos are just a black basecoat I applied to the majority of the piece, I also have the rest of the railings and ladder for the building on the left which are just waiting for base coat and will then be glued on.
 I hope you enjoy seeing just how easy it is to build this stuff while you watch television, or hang with your kids or your very patient girlfriend. I just might get a cable access show and do it on television for all the folks in the GTA to watch.
ASH
madcraftshoppe@live.cm